AIDS Healthcare Foundation Opens New Men's Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in Partnership With Gay Men of African Descent

News Medical reported that AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has partnered with the local nonprofit organization Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) to open the AHF Brooklyn Men's Wellness Center at GMAD's facility in New York City's Brooklyn borough. Located at 44 Court Street, Suite 1000, the wellness center was open on Wednesdays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and welcomed walk-in clients.

AHF's NYC Regional Director Michael Camacho stated that as a relative newcomer to New York, AHF was pleased to collaborate with an established provider in tackling HIV, which had affected the black gay population disproportionately. The joint effort would offer free screening and treatment for chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea, as well as free HIV testing. The center aimed to increase access to STD testing and to incorporate regular testing into routine healthcare for sexually active people. AHF's first Brooklyn facility, an Out of the Closet Thrift Store, opened in April 2013 and offered free, walk-in HIV testing.

Advertisement

The GMAD/AHF partnership was the first alliance in which AHF provided services from another organization's facility. According to Executive Director Vaughn Taylor, GMAD hoped that in the future, the partnership could add mobile testing and house calls, as AHF has done in Florida.

In 2010, the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recorded 3,481 new HIV cases in New York's five boroughs; 63,544 new chlamydia diagnoses; 12,354 new gonorrhea diagnoses; and 955 new syphilis diagnoses. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Williamsburg, and Bushwick reported the highest co-occurrence rates of STDs (HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) with hepatitis B and C and TB. Bedford-Stuyvesant was the largest African-American community in the United States in 2009.

Individuals desiring additional information could call (718) 2226300 or visit the Web site at www.freestdcheck.org/.

(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Beforeadding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.